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Fusion, regarded by many as the ultimate form of clean energy, may finally be within reach. This analysis looks at the context of the latest advances, in particular the explosion of private-sector interest. Overall, this has led to an acceleration of many planned timelines, although a lot of uncertainty remains, given the magnitude of the remaining technical challenges. In addition, questions also persist around skills, the regulatory environment, financing and economic viability. With a new EU strategy ...

On 25 June 2025, the Commission published a proposal for a regulation on the safety, resilience and sustainability of space activities in the European Union (EU) ('the EU space act'). A majority of Member States have already adopted or are considering adopting legislation on space activities. The regulation's relevance was highlighted by Mario Draghi's report on the future of European competitiveness, which explained the role of space systems and services in supporting the EU's sovereignty and economy ...

This study explores the feasibility of a European news streaming platform (ENSP), with a focus on its governance, legal implications and potential added value for media pluralism in Europe. Such a platform would, according to its proponents, provide access to news and public interest content by audiovisual media service providers across the EU, with automatically generated subtitles that make content available in all EU languages. Such an initiative is a clear response to the requirements highlighted ...

This study explores the design of future Framework Programmes for Research and Innovation (R&I) in the European Union. Employing a foresight methodology – comprising a literature review, case studies, scenarios and foresight workshops with stakeholders – the study examines prevailing discourses on Framework Programme structures, identifies key R&I trends, and analyses the challenges posed by current developments. It presents a set of hypothetical programme structures alongside policy recommendations ...

ISSUES AT STAKE • The combined global revenues of Earth observation and positioning-navigation-timing solutions revenues are expected to double between 2023 and 2035, making space services one of the fastest growing economic sectors. According to the European Commission, around 10 % of EU GDP is enabled by satellite signals. However, space congestion hampers further development. • The probability of a new global 'space race' led the European Council to identify space as a sensitive sector where strategic ...

Recent shocks, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, have revealed not only the single market’s vulnerability to crises, but also the extent to which its good functioning is important to the EU’s competitiveness. The digital single market plays a transitory role as it benefits the economy, reduces environmental impacts and enhances quality of life through e-commerce and e-governance. The transition of services from fixed to mobile platforms demands an EU framework for cloud computing ...

This interdisciplinary report focuses on tax barriers to cross-border mobility of workers in the EU. Tax fragmentation creates multiple negative impacts on the EU Internal Market, and compliance costs vary considerably across size, industries and countries. Further, employees’ choice of host country may be distorted by the tax differential. The report concludes with specific policy recommendations for more tax harmonisation and coordination, and for simplified compliance requirements.

Digital service platforms and emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, are profoundly reshaping our society. They have transformed how we communicate, shop and access information online, making them integral to daily life. The European digital agenda for 2020-2030 responds to these changes by seeking to establish secure digital spaces, ensure fair competition in digital markets and enhance Europe’s digital sovereignty, in line with both the digital and green transitions.

This study provides a mapping of the existing financial sector taxes applied in EU Member States and summarises the empirical evidence on the various effects associated with individual financial sector taxes. It focuses on the taxation of financial transactions, bank taxes, and the taxation of financial services. Financial sector taxes are assessed in terms of their effect on fragmentation and the coherence of the EU financial sector. The study also sketches some directions for reform to improve ...

EU policy for research and technological development (RTD) has been an important area of European legislation since the start, and was extended in the 1980s with a European framework programme for research. In 2014, most EU research funding came under the umbrella of Horizon 2020, which covered the period 2014-2020 and aimed at ensuring the EU’s global competitiveness. Its successor Horizon Europe, the current EU research and innovation programme, was launched in 2021 for the period 2021-2027.